life without egrets

 Today we read Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22 in the One Year Bible. And Solomon is giving us a fantastic insight. You've heard of learning things the hard way, right? Did you know there's an easy way to learn things? If we listen to those who are wise, and take their words to heart... it saves us from having to learn things the hard way.

Solomon is very wise. Maybe the wisest person who ever lived. And he tells us, after being rich beyond our imagination (he'd give Bezos a run for his money), enjoying all of the sexual pleasure that hundreds of wives and concubines can bring, having the entire world at his command, being so famous that people came from other countries just to listen to him talk... after all of that, he says that life is meaningless. Nothing new under the sun. It's all pointless, chasing after wind.

Now, why is that good news? Isn't it horrifically pessimistic? Doesn't that mean we might as well give up? No, it doesn't. And I'll tell you why.

Because Solomon just told every one of us, if we'll just listen, that getting more money, more fame, more sex, more power, more stuff.... won't make us happy. Don't climb that ladder. You're not going to like what you find at the top.

Followers of Jesus know this, too. If we seek the treasures of this world, we'll miss out on the Kingdom of God, AND whatever treasures we get in this life will feel hollow and pointless and empty. A chasing after the wind. BUT. If we seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then we WILL get those things. He doesn't just meet us halfway... He rushes to bring those things to us, if we just ask and genuinely desire them. And then "all these things" are also given to us - the resources we need to live, joy and fulfillment in our relationships, a life that we find satisfying and that helps people. 

Even THEN, though... we're not made to be fully satisfied in this life. We were created for eternal life. Our souls will be restless, with Solomon, until they rest in Him. And we won't rest in Him until we cross over to the other side.

So let's live life without egrets. That's my little joke, and those are egrets in the picture above. What I really mean is, live life without regrets. Here are the seven most common things people wish they'd done more when they look back on their lives.

God, thanks for giving us the chance to learn the easy way.